Hope
by Olivia Allister
Summary: When 14-year-old Carrie Perkins, abandoned by her secretive parents and left alone with her ailing grandmother, meets a mysterious, eccentric family of undercover spies, her life is turned upside-down-yet again. Will Carrie uncover the secrets behind her parents' depart, and find out who she truly is? And above all, will she find the family she'd dreamed of?
1. Chapter 1 - Carrie

Chapter 1 - Carrie

 **Greetings, readers, writers, authors! Olivia's back (after a long wait) with my first Despicable Me fanfic, also my first multi-chapter work. (My other is a Bambi fic, one that I have been having a long dilemma with in publishing chapters and have not updated in a while. Speaking of which, to those of you who have been expecting my continuing the story I give my sincere apologies.) Well, I'm back now!**

 **Anyway, enjoy, read and review! I haven't been on Fanfiction in a while, so feel free to let me know if I need to change anything. Thanks!**

Carrie hauled her bag across the bleak white sand, dragging her feet after her. In the midst of the dunes lay a scrawny white-blond boy of seven, chortling to himself as he dug a sand angel with arms and legs.

Carrie huffed impatiently. "Come on, Carl. You know Granny hates to wait."

The thin bleach-blond kid responded by spraying a handful of sand at Carrie.

"Carl! Stop that!" Carrie spat agitatedly, rubbing flecks of sand out of her eyes. "We have to go home now. Granny won't be happy to know you've been fooling around."

At this Carl scrambled out of the sand, shuffling toward Carrie with clouds of dust billowing around his ankles. "Don't tell Granny!"

Carl looked up at her with pleading eyes. Carrie sighed. What she did to deserve this, she didn't know. To babysit this annoying brat day after day to make somewhat of a living was like jumping into the fires of Hell, but it was the only option she had. Ever since her parents had left the house a few months back, she had to scrounge for hope, do whatever she had to get a job. Of course, what with her unfinished education and her checkered past, no decent workplace would take her up or listen to her stories. So she was stuck with this for many, many years to come.

Carrie took Carl's thin hand, dragging him up toward the beach entrance. "Let's go home. I won't tell her if you don't misbehave. So be good, okay?"

Carl huffed angrily, his blue eyes narrowed as he absently kicked a pebble off into one corner of the sidewalk.

Carrie gripped his hand as they stepped out together onto the wind gray street, tracing the familiar path all the way to home.

 **. . .**

"Thank you, Carrie. I do apologize if he's a bit uncooperative at times."

Carrie stood at the porch of the sky-blue veranda she had seen so many times. Before her stood Carl, holding onto his grandmother's sleeve as she counted Carrie's due.

Carrie laughed politely. "That's all right, Ms. Lane. Thank you very much." Carrie folded the money into her pocket as Carl's grandmother looked on with a weary smile.

"It's you I should thank, sweetheart. Managing Carl on your own, and given the circumstances...'' The small, thin old woman trailed off, shaking her head warily. "You're the bravest girl I know."

Carrie blushed. "Thank you."

The old lady gave her a sad smile. "Remind me to drop some of your grandmother's pills off tonight, alright? It's the least I can do."

Carrie shook the kindly old lady's hand. "It really isn't, Ms. Lane. Thank you so much."

The words were molded into her lips, crafted into her tongue like machinery. She wished she could be able to mean it, to be consoled by the well-meaning family. But the truth was the wounds that had been given to her could never be healed by a few words. That no amount of empathy or pity could change the truth.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Lane! Thanks for everything! Carrie waved with false cheerfulness.

"Good evening, child."

With that, Carrie slung her bag over her shoulder and proceeded onward over-enthusiastic vigour, leaving the frail old lady and the scrawny blond boy gazing after her wonderingly.

 **And that's that! I know, I know, Gru and the gang didn't show up yet. But don't worry, they will later...just a few chapters later. And yes, I know you might be thinking, what's Carrie got to do with Despicable Me? Well, that's for you to find out.**

 **Tell me how I did in the first chapter, thanks for reading, leave a review! Until later!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Carrie's Grandmother

Chapter 2 - Carrie's Grandmother

 **Hello again and welcome to the second chapter of 'Hope'! Sorry it took a while (updating problems). Let me know if the previous chapter was too short. Here is the chapter where you get to see a little bit more into Carrie's life. Thanks for reading and leave a review!**

Carrie slumped on the foot of her bed, worn out from yet another day of dealing with her parents' unpaid taxes and unfinished paychecks. She remembered to leave a note for Ms. Lane excusing her absence tonight; she had to pay a visit to her ailing grandmother, who'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's over the past two years.

She'd never imagined the level of work she would have to do around the house after her parents were gone. Most days she'd wake up with searing migraines, only to be faced with another mountain of unpaid taxes, paychecks, bills... Sometimes the ever-compassionate Ms. Lane would drop by to give her a hand and tutor her in the arts of being an adult, but mostly she'd be busy with Carl or have her own work to do.

Carrie had gotten used to the responsibilities; she had no other way around. Ever since her parents had packed up and left, it was her and the house. She couldn't afford to have her grandmother move in, but she would visit her every morning, night and day to cook her meals, prepare her bath, read to her, change her bedsheets.

She longed, of course, to have a normal family and an ordinary life, free of conflict for many years to come. She prayed for her grandmother to get well, to remember where she put her shoes at night, to read to her and cook her meals for a change.

But Carrie knew it was pointless, and selfish, to ask for a different life. As she was taught, this was the only life she had, and it didn't matter if she was unsatisfied. Her opinion, her father had assured her, was worth nothing.

And so she continued to live by that, day after day. She had stopped caring long ago.

 **. . .**

Carrie fumbled with the keys to her parents' old Toyota and swung open the door, taking her grandmother's old asthma inhaler, temperature monitor, and bottle of pills against high blood pressure. Carrie had used to find it strange that her parents had only taken one car when they left, the one in which they drove away. Then again, her parents hadn't given their unexpected depart much thought anyway.

Tucking away all the items into her duffel bag, Carrie set off onto the quiet misty morning, the puffs of her breath visible in the frosty morning air. The trip to her grandmother's condo was a short one, as usual. Soon Carrie was standing (or to be precise, shivering) in front of the rusty elevator, punching some buttons on the tab. Carrie shifted her weight from one foot to the other, awaiting the ring of the condo elevator to welcome her in. Stepping in, Carrie punched the 3rd floor button and ascended to her destination. Nimbly she averted a lady with a stroller on the way out and made her way to the room she was looking for.

A sleek padlock hung from the sealed smooth wooden door, extra assurance that her grandmother wouldn't leave and get herself lost in who-knows-where, as is a common problem for people with Alzheimer's.

Swiftly Carrie pulled put a bobby pin and fiddled with the lock until it clicked. Then, swinging open the dpor, she let herself inside.

Carrie smiled. "Hi, Grammy." Her grandmother was lying on the small, rough plaid couch, her ancient gray-blue eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. Carrie unzipped her duffel bag and brought out the supplies she'd taken.

"Look, I brought you the temperature monitor you always wanted. And look at this, Grammy...I found your old inhaler! Now doesn't that make you happy?"

Carrie's grandmother fixed an empty stare on Carrie and turned to her side. "I don't need that old thing. I'm going to the Red Sea soon anyway. I'll be better than you could ever be from an old inhaler."

Carrie sighed. Her grandmother had started to imagine she was still living by the Red Sea, where she was from, lately. Once she'd even locked herself in her room and sulked at Carrie for forbidding her to go "running over and having a great time" there.

Carrie set the inhaler on her desk anyway. "Time to take your medicine, Grammy." After setting up the temperature monitor beside her grandmother, Carrie took the bottle of pills in her hand and filled a glass with water.

"No." The sudden statement jolted Carrie out of her thoughts.

"What?"

Her grandmother was eyeing the glass warily. "I'll skip today."

Carrie brought the glass over to the bedside table next to the couch and sat down. "Now, Grammy."

"No," remained the stubborn reply. "I'm tired of being treated like a patient, I can manage without it."

And just before Carrie could protest, her grandmother leaned back sharply and pushed the glass and the bottle off the couch. As if in slow motion, Carrie saw the glass tip over and smash against the hard floor, the pills scattering on the carpet.

Carrie sputtered, gaping at the seeping puddle and shattered glass. "Th-those were your memory enhancers! Grammy, you...you needed those! Why..why?!"

Her vision blurring from tears, Carrie gathered up the broken glass and went to mopping up the spilled water. She couldn't believe this. She thought her grandmother was happy. What had she done wrong?

"Grammy?" Her grandmother had turned over on her side, arms crossed, eyes shut.

 _Fine!_ Carrie thought in exasperation. _Be that way! You'll never get better, you'll never remember where you are..._ Angrily Carrie flung the shattered glass into a trashcan and slammed the mop she had been using down on the floor.

 _It's not fair. It's not fair!_ She stomped over to the kitchen to get her grandmother's food ready. _Now she'll probably have high blood pressure and get a fever or maybe even end up at the hospital..._

Carrie poured oil into a pan and threw in some leftovers in a frenzy, guilt washing over her thoughts. _It's all because of me. My parents left because of me, and now here I am slowly killing my only living relative..._

She slumped into a chair, watching her grandmother shudder and wince in her sleep (which didn't help). Her eyes stung. _Why am I so bad?_

 **. . .**

Carrie crept to the foot of her bed and turned out the light. After changing her grandmother's covers and feeding her the evening meal, she'd stopped by at Ms. Lane's to apologize for her absence, and in turn receiving yet another shower of pity and sympathy.

Carrie had wished, for the thousandth time, that she could find hope and consolation within these words. But, alas, she could not. It was like a curse.

She turned to her side, trying not to think about the wave of chores that awaited her the next morning. But above all, she still had to find her hope, which didn't seem like it was going to happen anytime soon.

Carrie leaned back on her pillow, letting a wave of fitful sleep slowly envelope her mind.

 **And that's the second chapter! This chapter's probably way too long, sorry about that and don't hesitate to tell me if you think so. I have mixed feelings about the quality of this one, so feedback of all sorts is especially appreciated. Oh and, those of you who are getting impatient for Gru and the others to come in, the next chapter has the first character, so don't worry.**

 **Thanks for reading & leave a review!**

 **-Olivia**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Depart

Chapter 3 - The Depart

 **Hey guys, Olivia here. =) This chapter is written in flashback mode (italics), since it's a flashback. This is the chapter things really start to heat up, so if the earlier chapters seemed introductory and boring, this'll be an action break. (Yay!) It also explains some of Carrie's past history. Oh, and your first char comes up here! Yeah, you're welcome.**

 **Well, enough talk - As usual, enjoy and review!**

 _Carrie's eyes fluttered open. "Mom?"_

 _Clumsily she toppled off the foot of the bed and hobbled to the kitchen in her pajamas, her eyelids still heavy with tiredness._

 _Carrie entered the empty kitchen. "Uh...Mom?"_

 _Carrie searched the drafty corridor, the living room, the long halls with chipping paint. A flicker of unease crept across her chest. Why were the rooms hollow, barren? Why were her parents' offices deserted, all the computer monitors, paperwork and printers gone?_

 _Carrie turned away from the eerily barren offices and ran to her parents' bedroom, swinging open the door. "Mom! Dad!"_

 _Suddenly she froze in her tracks, her arms still gripping the sides of the walls. Everything - her parents' clothes, suits, jewelry, handbags, pictures, books, even her mother's make-up kit - was gone. Everything her parents owned had vanished into thin air._

 _Carrie tore away across the creepy halls, her heart thrashing wildly in her chest, her legs beating the floor, screaming, "MOM! DAD!"_ We have burglars _, was her first thought. But why weren't her parents here yet? They usually finished their early morning work long before Carrie woke up, and went on to dealing with taxes and bills later. Where were they?_

 _Carrie skidded on the floor, her clammy palms clenching into fists. She didn't dare to move as a horrible thought developed in her mind._ Were..were they...abducted? _Her head swam as a single thought now whirred in her mind._ They could have been killed.

 _For a horrible, tense second, she stood there, hyperventilating. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a pile of unfinished paychecks scattered on a table, few of the only items that hadn't disappeared._ Well, of course _, Carrie thought dumbly._ They wouldn't steal a paycheck.

 _That's when she heard, echoing through the rusty floorboards, two familiar voices. The voices of two people in particular._

Mom? Dad? _Mindlessly Carrie took off down the stairs, her vision blurring._

 _ **. . .**_

 _Carrie nearly crashed into the door as she flew down the stairs and into her parents' bewildered arms. She wanted to sob with relief...until a firm hand grasped her shoulder, in a grip like iron._

 _Startled, Carrie glanced up into the furious brown eyes of her father. "Get back in there," he hissed sharply, thrusting Carrie away from him._

 _"What...?"_

 _Her father shook her, more violently than she would have expected. He leaned in close, her gaze searing through her skin. She could feel his hot breath on her face. "When I tell you to get out, you get out, you hear?" he snarled._

 _Behind him, Carrie saw her mother, staring at her with fright as if she were a wild animal. Her father gripped her by the arm and wrenched her away from him, going back to doing whatever he'd been doing after casting a look like ice at her._

 _Carrie's head spun, her legs feeling like they would give out from under her. What had she done? Were her parents stressed because of bill day? What happened?_

 _Suddenly, over he parents' shoulders, she could see huge packing boxes set around the driveway. Her father's old handmade car (she remembered him calling it the 'Vectormobile', although she'd had no idea how he'd been able to make a car on his own) sat in the middle of the myriad of packing boxes and clumpy packing bags, as if awaiting a long trip ahead._

 _Carrie swayed, the world swimming in her eyes. She gripped the side of the corridor for support as realization dawned on her. This was the explanation for the barren house. But why did they need ALL of their things?_

 _With shaking hands, Carrie looked on at the formidable scene before her, dumbstruck. She knew the answer. But she would not let herself accept it._

 _Forcing a smile, she turned to her mother. "When are you coming back?" At this he mother whipped around, a pile of unpacked underclothes tumbling from her arms. She stared at Carrie with wide blue eyes, the same hideous-beast expression still frozen on her face._

 _"Um...Mom?" Timidly Carrie reached out a trembling hand and touched her mother's sleeve to get her attention._

 _At which she heard a roar, frenzied, inhumane, piercing the tense air. Time slowed as she was thrown off her feet, feeling a dull burn below her temple. She saw her father's frighteningly contorted face, flushed and narrowed, yelling at her in slow motion. She saw his clenched fist flying through the air, as if reflexing from striking someone. Dumbly she realized the someone was her._

 _A jumble of words fell to her muddled, tortured ears. She understood only one thing. "You aren't our child."_

 _Then, as if lapsing back into the present, her senses returned. She was sprawled out on the stairs, a mess of fallen packing boxes and supplies scattered about her. A trail of blood was spattered on the stairs before her. The sound of terrified sobbing came to her ears._

 _"Vector, stop!" Her mother's shrill cry shot through the air. Carrie got to her feet shakily, her head stinging._ What did I do?

 _Her father was gathering up all the scattered supplies and clothes and stuffing them into the bags. He glanced up sharply, glowering at Carrie. "Don't just stand there! Get lost! We don't want to see you, do you get that?"_

 _Carrie stared, flabbergasted._

 _Her father exploded. "Look what you did to your mother! Look what you do to your grandmother every single day! And after all that, you have the nerve to get familiar with us? To touch us? To get in our way?" Her father was flushed, ranting. His limp brown hair fell into his glasses as he spat out curse after curse at the dumbstruck Carrie._

 _Behind him, Carrie's mother had grabbed onto his orange shirt sleeve and moved on to sobbing into his shoulder. Carrie felt, a searing jab through the blur of other emotions she felt, a stab of guilt. It startled her; she was sure she had done nothing to deserve this, but through the fog that covered her mind she felt she owed them something. It was a shadow at the back of her mind._

 _Carrie stared at the horrible scene unfurling in front of her, all her shock and disbelief seeming little compared what she was witnessing next. She saw her father shove the remaining boxes into the car, her mother collapsing into the shotgun seat. She saw her father open the car door, enter, and shut it with a slam. She heard, through the blood roaring in her ears, through her mother's broken sobs, her father's nasal voice shaping itself into terrifying words._

 _"We're done here, you've earned your share. We're leaving."_

 _Carrie stared, unblinking. The bright orange zoomed across the street, its white license plate "DRCTION+MGNTUDE" the last Carrie saw of her parents before they vanished around the corner._

 _It was then that Carrie blacked out._

 **And that's all for today, folks. Yes, I know, I'm evil, for having a child abandoned like that (mwa ha ha). But don't worry, things'll get better for Carrie...as well as new characters, comin' up. (Of course, before things get better, they'll probably get way worse first.)**

 **Well, anyway, this chapter is the rising action of the story. If it STILL seemed boring to you, the next chapter will be a real action break, (the climax). So don't worry! Anyhow, tell me how I did, thanks for reading and leave a review!**

 **-Olivia**


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